Prasanth Varma noted that Awe is a drama with a social message. “Nani is a kind of producer, who gives complete freedom to the director. “It is a genre-bender. There is a lot of fun but it’s not a commercial film. “We have a great message in the film but it’s not a serious preachy film. In the climax of the film, you’ll understand, why we had to do the genre shift,” he said. When I was pitching the ideas to the actor and directors, they used to tell me these are too advanced for Telugu audience and we have to wait 6 or 7 years to make films like this. Every 10 minutes, the genre of the film changes. “I didn’t have the idea back then, that you’re not supposed to write films like this (that would cost Rs 500 crore) if you’re a first-timer. We’ve not shifted the genres, just because ‘it’s cool’. About 16 or 17 of my films from different genres got shelved. Nani has also given his voice to a fish, which is the narrator in the film, while Ravi Teja has given the voice to a bonsai tree. His first feature film as a director, Awe, which has an ensemble cast including Kajal Aggarwal, Nithya Menen and Regina Cassandra among others, has hit the screens today. About 60 percent of the film is a comedy. It has not been an easy journey for the young filmmaker. “You might not have seen Kajal like this in her whole career. Prasanth noted that Awe is a drama with a social message. I could easily do another 10 films for his banner,” noted Prasanth. He taught himself about the art of filmmaking through books, watching world cinema and shooting short films. So a lot of actors have to adjust their dates with other projects, to accommodate this film,” he said. So how did he convince the actors to sign his film without giving them a full narration? He even quit watching cricket because he could watch five movies in the same duration of a game. A film like this has never happened before.”
Prasanth also revealed that none of the actors in the film know the complete story. When he came to the mainstream, he understood it was a different ball game. It is MCA star’s first film as a producer under his home production banner Wall Poster Cinema. “It was very easy to convince them (actors),” he added. Prasanth said it took so many years for him to get attuned to the business of cinema and finetune himself as a filmmaker, who understands the market and make films accordingly. “The last eight years I only learned politics, productions and how to get my first film onboard.”
After a series of disappointments, Prasanth decided to write and make Awe on his own. “After I discussed the characters with them, I could see a glow in their eyes,” he said. He had estimated a budget of Rs 5 lakh to shoot his first feature film before actor Nani came onboard as a producer. The debutant director is confident that an original film like Awe has never been made in the Telugu film industry. People were playing characters that they might not get to play again if they leave this film.